Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- wistful
- stylish
- hopeful
- romantic movie night
- literary adaptation marathon
What critics said
Critics found the adaptation visually polished and initially compelling but ultimately too superficial and narrowly focused on its romantic surface.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Finnegan Bell develops his career as an artist while directing his aspirations toward winning Estella's affection.
A hidden sponsor gives Finnegan the opportunity to realize his ambitions, with the apparent purpose of making Estella love him.
The film explicitly updates Charles Dickens's novel to modern-day New York City while retaining its central romantic and class conflicts.
Critics repeatedly characterized the film as centered on beautiful people and beautiful locations, while its production uses stylized urban imagery.
Films like Great Expectations, and why
The Age of Innocence
shared romantic drama structure, literary source material, class disparity, and emotionally elusive love interest
Wuthering Heights
shared literary romance, outsider ambition, wealthy social world, and visually stylized period-to-modern sensibility
Moulin Rouge!
shared intense romantic longing, social class tension, and a protagonist reshaped by an idealized love object
Movie Details
- Director
- Alfonso Cuarón
- Release Date
- 1998-01-30
- Runtime
- 111 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (722)
Cast
- Ethan Hawke
- Gwyneth Paltrow
- Hank Azaria
- Chris Cooper
- Anne Bancroft
- Robert De Niro
- Josh Mostel
- Kim Dickens
- Nell Campbell
- Gabriel Mann
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Great Expectations about?
- A modest New York artist pursues an unreachable heiress after a mysterious benefactor transforms his life into an elaborate bid for her love.
- What is Great Expectations like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Great Expectations as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Great Expectations violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Great Expectations as mild.
- What did critics think of Great Expectations?
- Critics found the adaptation visually polished and initially compelling but ultimately too superficial and narrowly focused on its romantic surface.
- Which films are like Great Expectations?
- Films with a similar feel include The Age of Innocence, Wuthering Heights, and Moulin Rouge!.
- How long is Great Expectations?
- Great Expectations runs 111 minutes.
- Where can I watch Great Expectations?
- In United States, Great Expectations is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
